Interesting and challenges preconceptions.

“Ultimatum” by Matthew Glass is very much a book for The West Wing fans. Set in 2032, it takes the reader on a journey from the night of the election of a reforming liberal Democratic president through the decisions he has to take to deal with global warming, as it becomes apparent that the effects of climate change are beginning to become impossible to ignore.

What’s particularly interesting is that the book savages the Kyoto process and basically lays out the case for why, ironically, a unilateral George W. Bush style “War on Climate Change” may be the only way to deal with the problem.

To call it a thriller is probably an understatement, in that a lot of the book is taken up with President Joe Benton’s speeches and detailed meetings about how to deal with the issue, especially in a world where China is the world’s most important economy. But that is not to negate the general thoughtfulness of the book. It leaves one thinking about the issues raised. I actually downloaded it off iTunes as an audiobook, and it whiled away some otherwise tedious commuting.